page_title: Saving Mr. Banks
section_title: Filming
hierarchical_section_title: Saving Mr. Banks / Production / Filming
caption_attribution_description: English: The old Animation Building at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Photographed by user Coolcaesar on November 8, 2014.
context_page_description: Saving Mr. Banks is a 2013 period drama film directed by John Lee Hancock from a screenplay written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith. Centered on the development of the 1964 film Mary Poppins, the film stars Emma Thompson as author P. L. Travers and Tom Hanks as film producer Walt Disney, with supporting performances by Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, Bradley Whitford, and Colin Farrell. Deriving its title from the father in Travers' story, Saving Mr. Banks depicts the author's tragic childhood in rural Queensland, and the two weeks of meetings during 1961 in Los Angeles, during which Disney attempts to obtain the screen rights to her novels.
  Essential Media Entertainment and BBC Films initially developed Saving Mr. Banks as an independent production until 2011, when producer Alison Owen approached Walt Disney Pictures for permission to use copyrighted elements. The film's subject matter piqued Disney's interest, leading the studio to acquire the screenplay and produce the film.
context_section_description: Principal photography began in September 2012 in Los Angeles. Although some scenes were originally planned to be shot in Queensland, Australia, all filming, except for two establishing shots in London, took place in the Southern California area, including the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, Disneyland Park in Anaheim, Big Sky Ranch in Simi Valley, the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia, Heritage Square Museum in Montecito Heights, Ontario International Airport in San Bernardino, Courthouse Square at Universal Studios, and the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The largest set built for the film was the interior of the Walt Disney Studios' Animation Building, which production designer Michael Corenblith referred to as "a character in the story". The exterior of the Beverly Hills Hotel and Disney's personal office were also recreated, with the Langham Huntington in Pasadena acting as an interior double for the Beverly Hills Hotel. To ensure authenticity, Corenblith used photographs and a furniture display from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library as references for Disney's office; the set was also adorned with Disney's personal Academy Awards loaned from a Walt Disney World Resort exhibit. For the Disneyland sequences, scenes were shot during the early morning with certain areas cordoned off during the park's operation, including the park's entrance courtyard, Main Street U.S.A., Sleeping Beauty Castle, Fantasyland, and the King Arthur Carrousel attraction. Extra roles were filled by Disneyland Resort cast members. In order for the park to be portrayed accurately in the story's time period, Corenblith had the Main Street storefronts redressed to reflect their 1961 appearance; post-1961 attractions were kept obstructed so they would not show up on camera. To recreate the original film's premiere at the Chinese Theatre, set designers closed Hollywood Boulevard and recreated the street and theater to resemble their 1964 appearances. After scheduled filming in Australia had been scrapped, cinematographer John Schwartzman compared the landscape of Queensland with that of rural Southern California, and realized that both had similar traits in natural lighting.
  Emma Thompson prepared for her role by studying Travers' own recordings conducted during the development of Mary Poppins, and also styled her natural hair after Travers', due to the actress's disdain for wigs. To accurately convey Walt Disney's midwestern dialect, Tom Hanks listened to archival recordings of Disney and practiced the voice while reading newspapers. Hanks also grew his own mustache for the role, which underwent heavy scrutiny, with the filmmakers going so far as to match the dimensions of Hanks' mustache to that of Disney's. Jason Schwartzman and B. J. Novak worked closely with Richard M. Sherman during pre-production and filming. Sherman described the actors as "perfect talents" for their roles as himself and his brother, Robert. Costume designer Daniel Orlandi had Thompson wear authentic jewelry borrowed from the Walt Disney Family Museum, and ensured that Hanks' wardrobe included the Smoke Tree Ranch emblem from the Palm Springs property embroidered on his neckties, which Disney always wore. The design department also had to recreate several of the costumed Disney characters as they appeared in the 1960s. Filming lasted nine weeks and was completed on November 22, 2012. Walt Disney Animation Studios reproduced animation of Tinker Bell for the scene that recreates an opening segment from an episode of Walt Disney Presents.
caption: The former Animation Building on the Walt Disney Studios lot, which served as a primary filming location for the film.
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